Hardiness and support at work as predictors of work stress and job satisfaction.

PURPOSE: To test a theoretically and empirically based model linking potential protective resources (hardiness, coworker and supervisor support) to the outcomes of work stress and job satisfaction and replicating the relationship of work stress to job satisfaction while accounting for the potential influence of negative affectivity. DESIGN: A cross-sectional research design using survey data collected from two convenience samples. SETTING: Two worksites: (1) a high-tech company and (2) a government agency. SUBJECTS: High-tech employees (N = 310; response rate, 73.8%) and government agency employees (N = 745; response rate, 49.7%). MEASURES: The Dispositional Resilience Scale measured hardiness and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule measured negative affectivity. Coworker and supervisor support were measured using the Coworker Support Scale and the Supervisor Support Scale, respectively. The Perceived Work Stress Scale measured work stress, and a single item from the Job Satisfaction Scale assessed overall job satisfaction. RESULTS: A multiple-group path analysis examined the proposed model. Similar patterns of association were found for both samples and suggested a more parsimonious model without the path from negative affectivity to job satisfaction. The model supports the protective nature of hardiness and support at work with regard to work stress and job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Explanations of relationships depicted in the model, practical implications for reducing work stress and enhancing job satisfaction, limitations and future directions are discussed.

The association of health status, worksite fitness center participation, and two measures of productivity.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine the associations between participation in a worksite fitness center and worker productivity. METHODS: A modified Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ) and employees' short-term disability claims were used as productivity measures with multivariate logistic regression models to control for health risk, age, gender, and work location. RESULTS: Nonparticipants in a worksite fitness center were more likely to report health-related work productivity limitations for time management (odds ratio [OR] = 1.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09-2.41), physical work (OR = 1.58, CI = 1.03-2.43), output limitations (OR = 2.24, CI = 1.01-2.12), and overall work impairment (OR = 1.41, CI = 1.00-1.96) than fitness center participants. Fitness center participation also was associated with 1.3 days fewer short-term disability days per year per employee (P = 0.02) and 0.39 fewer health risks (P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These results support the association of worksite fitness center participants with improved worker productivity and fewer short-term disability workdays lost.

Reliability and validity of a single-item measure of job satisfaction.

PURPOSE: To investigate the reliability and validity of a single-item overall job satisfaction measure. METHODS: Public agency employees (n = 745) were surveyed regarding job satisfaction, work, personality, and health variables. The single-item measure underwent the following analyses: correction for attenuation formula to estimate minimum reliability; correlations with multiple-item job satisfaction, work, personality, and health measures to determine concurrent validity, construct validity, and specific relevance to health promotion; and logistic regression to determine the predictability of turnover intention. RESULTS: For the single-item measure the minimum reliability estimate was high, all correlational tests for validity were significant, logistic regression indicated substantial predictability of turnover intention, and correlations with the health measures were significant. DISCUSSION: These results are consistent with other studies and support the psychometric properties of this single-item overall job satisfaction measure. Limitations of the study and its implications for worksite health promotion are discussed.

The relationship between hardiness, supervisor support, group cohesion, and job stress as predictors of job satisfaction.

PURPOSE: This study tested a conceptual model based on research supporting the relationship between the predictors of hardiness, supervisor support, and group cohesion and the criterions of job stress and job satisfaction and between the predictor of job stress and the criterion of job satisfaction. DESIGN: The study employed a cross-sectional research design. Survey data were collected as part of the baseline measures assessed prior to an organizational hardiness intervention. SETTING: Worksite of Dell Computer Corporation in Austin, Texas. SUBJECTS: The subjects included 160 full-time Dell employees recruited from a convenience sample representing nine work groups (response rate = 90%). MEASURES: Hardiness was measured using the Dispositional Resilience Scale (DRS), job stress was measured using the Perceived Work Stress Scale (PWSS), and supervisor support, group cohesion, and job satisfaction were measured using a proprietary employee attitude survey. RESULTS: In the proposed model, high hardiness, supervisor support, and group cohesion were related to lower levels of job stress, which in turn was related to higher levels of job satisfaction. The model also proposed direct paths from hardiness, supervisor support, and group cohesion to job satisfaction. Path analysis was used to examine the goodness of fit of the model. The proposed model was a good fit for the data (chi 2[1, N = 160] = 1.85, p = .174) with the exception of the direct path between group cohesion and job satisfaction. Substantial portions of the variances in job stress (R2 = .19) and job satisfaction (R2 = .44) were accounted for by the predictors. CONCLUSION: Implications for targeted worksite health promotion efforts to lower job stress and enhance job satisfaction are discussed.